Fish Catcher vs built-in Safe Browsing
Safe Browsing is already inside Chrome and Firefox: it matches the pages you visit against Google’s list of known bad sites and blocks them with a red warning. Fish Catcher is an add-on that reads the page itself and warns, in plain words, before a scam is on anyone’s list.
Where your data goes
Side by side
 Fish Catcher |  Safe Browsing | |
|---|---|---|
| Privacy | Checks stay on your device | Partial URL hashes go to Google |
| Open source | MIT licensed, code on GitHub | Browser code open, list is Google’s |
| Blocks or warns | Warns, never blocks | Blocks with a red full-page warning |
| How it detects | Reads the page for scam signals | Matches Google’s list of known bad pages |
| Cost | Free, no account | Free, already on |
| Best for | Catching scams not yet listed | Known bad pages, zero setup |
Competitor details are from their public documentation as of August 2026; tell us if something changed. Logos belong to their owners and are shown to identify the products.
Which to pick
Keep Safe Browsing on either way. The question is whether to add Fish Catcher beside it.
Pick Fish Catcher if
- You want a warning that says what looks wrong, not only a red page.
- You want scams caught before they reach a blocklist.
- You want the check to stay on your device.
Pick Safe Browsing if
- You want zero setup.
- You mainly want known bad pages blocked outright.
- You are fine with Google seeing partial hashes of what you visit.
Where Fish Catcher is weaker
- Safe Browsing has years of scale behind it. Fish Catcher is new.
- Its blocklist is far smaller than Google’s list.
- It warns but never blocks, so it will not stop a page from loading.
- By default it uses no cloud reputation service; Safe Browsing inside Fish Catcher is opt-in.
Common questions
If my browser already has Safe Browsing, do I need Fish Catcher?
No, but it covers a different gap. Safe Browsing knows sites that were already reported; Fish Catcher reads the page in front of you and says why it looks risky.
Should I turn off Safe Browsing if I install Fish Catcher?
No, leave it on. Fish Catcher warns and never blocks, so it does not replace the red full-page block.